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  • #76
    This Day (Lago, Nigeria)

    http://allafrica.com/stories/200602210852.html

    Bird Flu Spreads to Abuja, Zamfara, Katsina
    This Day (Lagos)

    February 20, 2006
    Posted to the web February 21, 2006

    Josephine Lohor
    Abuja

    The Federal Government has announced that the Bird Flu has been detected in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

    Minister for Information and National Orientation, Frank Nweke, who said this yesterday, also stated that the Presidential Committee on the Prevention and Management of Avian Flu has taken delivery of the drug currently being used to manage the flu amongst humans, in countries where the flu had occurred.

    Nweke, while re-affirming the determination of the Federal Government to curtail the spread and effects of the Bird Flu, told newsmen that in spite of the new outbreaks, the infection has remained localised within the earlier identified states of Plateau, Kaduna, Kano and Bauchi, adding that multi-agency surveillance teams put up by government has visited Abia, Edo, Rivers, Niger, Anambra, Sokoto and Nasarawa states where samples taken tested negative.

    According to him, "extensive diagnostic tests have been conducted and are on-going amongst poultry workers nationwide, to date, no human cases have been recorded in Nigeria," Nweke said.

    He said the presidential committee on the flu has ordered immediate stamping out of all birds in the affected farms, and commended state governments that have set up similar committees, and offered to assist in augmenting compensation to be paid to affected farmers in their states.

    According to Nweke, "the Committee wishes to commend state governments who have established task forces to manage the crisis within their respective states and hereby call on states yet to do this to immediately do so, even if the flu has not been isolated within their states."
    Last edited by Mellie; February 21, 2006, 04:29 PM.

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    • #77
      ...no Cause for Alarm, Tourists Assured (Lagos, Nigeria)

      Following recent discovery of Avian Flu (Bird Flu) in Kaduna, Kano, and some neighbouring states in the northern region, Director General, National Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Dr Joseph Eboreime, has urged tourists and other international travellers with business intent not to be deterred from visiting the country on account of bird flu, saying the outbreak is local and well under control by international and home-based health experts.


      ...no Cause for Alarm, Tourists Assured
      This Day (Lagos)

      February 20, 2006
      Posted to the web February 21, 2006

      Chuka Odittah
      Abuja

      Following recent discovery of Avian Flu (Bird Flu) in Kaduna, Kano, and some neighbouring states in the northern region, Director General, National Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Dr Joseph Eboreime, has urged tourists and other international travellers with business intent not to be deterred from visiting the country on account of bird flu, saying the outbreak is local and well under control by international and home-based health experts.

      Eboreime said this at the weekend in Abuja, adding that already, the Federal Government Emergency Preparedness Committee on bird flu, in conjunction with World Health Organisation (WHO) experts and other global agencies are currently partnering to ensure extermination of the flu.

      He said as a matter of first recourse, the Federal Government has odered the immediate destruction of all live- stock in the affected states, while movement of poultry products have also been quarantined fully until further directives.

      He said governments in the affected states have in collaboration with WHO and departments of Livestock in the Agriculture Ministry, set up a full scale action to curtail spread to other parts.

      "Let me add here with all sincerity, that tourists and travellers into Nigeria are not in any way at risk of any infection whatsoever of bird flu.

      "The Federal Government decided to make the bird flu issue public, upon realisation that the bird flu phenomenon is a global issue which requires concerted effort to curb. Not because we are overwhelmed by it. In fact, high- powered collaborations are taking place between Nigerian public authorities and foreign experts, to ensure its immediate suppression," he said.

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      • #78
        Re: ...no Cause for Alarm, Tourists Assured (Lagos, Nigeria)

        Originally posted by Mellie
        He said as a matter of first recourse, the Federal Government has odered the immediate destruction of all live- stock in the affected states, while movement of poultry products have also been quarantined fully until further directives.
        The destruction of all livestock!!!
        Why is this neccessary, are there lots of sick/dead animals?
        Replacing these animals will take a long time and be very expensive in comparison to replacing poultry.

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        • #79
          Re: This Day (Lago, Nigeria)

          I think they mean all bird livestock, at least I hope so.

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          • #80
            Suspect Fatality in Nigeria

            Suspect Fatality in Nigeria
            WHO Update <hr size="1" style="color: rgb(209, 209, 225);"><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message --> Avian influenza - situation in Nigeria - update

            http://www.who.int/csr/don/2006_02_22/en/index.html

            22 February 2006

            The outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in poultry, confirmed at a commercial farm in Kaduna State on 8 February, has now spread to commercial farms in several other contiguous states. No human cases have been detected to date.

            Nigerian officials have confirmed outbreaks at commercial farms in the states of Kano, Plateau, Katsina, and Bauchi, and in the Abuja area. Outbreaks have also been detected at more farms in Kaduna. Outbreaks in additional states are currently under investigation.

            To date, four patients with respiratory symptoms and a history of exposure to diseased poultry have been investigated for possible infection. This number includes a woman who died of an acute respiratory illness on 16 February. The three remaining patients are all in good condition.

            Arrangements are being made to send samples from all four patients for testing at a WHO collaborating laboratory in the United Kingdom.

            The initial outbreak in Kaduna state is now known to have begun on 10 January, raising the possibility that earlier human exposures and cases may have occurred in that area and elsewhere. At hospitals in Kaduna, Kano, and Katsina near affected farms, staff from the WHO-led teams have now examined hundreds of patient records, searching for possible cases that may have occurred earlier. No such cases have been identified to date.

            The scale of the outbreak in birds is not yet fully understood. Most investigations have followed poultry deaths on large commercial farms, where outbreaks are highly visible. Little is known about the presence of the virus in small backyard flocks, where the greatest risk of human exposures and infections resides.

            Nigeria has an estimated poultry population of around 140 million birds, largely concentrated in the south-western part of the country. As is the case in several affected parts of South-east Asia, around 60% of Nigeria?s poultry production takes place in small backyard flocks. Large-scale commercial farming of poultry occurs mainly in the northern states, where outbreaks have been confirmed.

            Rapid spread of the virus within Nigeria has raised concern over possible spread to neighbouring countries. Borders are porous and restrictions on the movement of people and poultry are difficult to enforce. WHO staff at offices in these countries are monitoring the situation closely in collaboration with government officials. Rumours of possible human cases in neighbouring countries are also being closely monitored.
            <!-- / message --><!-- controls -->

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            • #81
              Woman dies of bird flu in Nigeria?

              http://www.tribune.com.ng/240206/news03.htm

              Woman dies of bird flu in Nigeria?

              AUTHORITIES in Nigeria are testing one woman who died last week and two kids to find out whether they are the first human cases of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in Africa, a World Health Organisation official said on Wednesday.
              ?The 67-year-old woman in Kano State died last week after developing respiratory problems. But we were able to take some blood from her before she died,? said Mohammed Belhocine, the World Health Organisation?s representative in Nigeria, said by telephone.

              Belhocine said two kids from a chicken farm in Kaduna State, where Africa?s first bird flu cases were detected, were also being tested, although Nigerian health officials had already ruled them out as bird flu victims after they recovered.

              ?Our team is in the field to identify and take some samples ...We want to make sure,? he said. Belhocine also said a lady in Lagos State,who was reported to have developed flu-like symptoms, has tested negative for the avian group antigen.

              Nigeria is the first country on the African continent to report an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus which has claimed at least 92 lives, mostly in Asia, since 1997.

              Meanwhile, the virus continues to spread among poultry in Nigeria and could cause a regional disaster, despite strong control efforts taken by the Nigerian authorities, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) said on Wednesday.

              ?Considering the possible widespread entrenchment of the disease in poultry, FAO is advising the government to prepare for a targeted vaccination campaign,? said Joseph Domenech, FAO?s Chief Veterinary Officer.

              ?The movement and trade of poultry have strongly contributed to the further spread of the virus. The government has taken the right measures such as culling in outbreak areas and biosecurity controls, but the authorities are facing immense difficulties to enforce controls,? Domenech said.

              Vaccination campaigns will require the mobilization of several thousand private and public Nigerian veterinarians and will need a strong commitment from national and regional authorities, as well as the support of the international donor community, according to Domenech.

              Such campaigns will require funds for vaccines, cars, vaccination teams, and training, Domenech said, adding that surveillance teams should be able to carefully monitor the situation and intervene immediately when an outbreak occurs.

              FAO and the World Organization for Animal Health, in collaboration with the Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources of the African Union, are assisting the government in assessing the situation and defining appropriate strategies to stop the spread of the disease, FAO said.

              This includes building up strategic stocks of vaccines, syringes and protective gear for people involved in control operations. In addition, equipment such as generators for electricity supply, computers and laboratory equipment are urgently needed.

              The country has already established an avian influenza crisis centre for the rapid collection and dissemination of information.

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              • #82
                Nigeria tests dead woman, kids for bird flu

                <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="465"> <tbody><tr><td class="t18">Nigeria tests dead woman, kids for bird flu</td> </tr> <tr><td align="right"> <script language="javascript"><!-- drawline1(); //--></script><script langage="javascript"> printResizeButton(); </script></td></tr> <tr> <td>
                Nigeria is testing one woman who died last week and two kids to find out whether they are the first human cases of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in Africa, a World Health Organization official told Xinhua Wednesday.
                "The old woman, 67, in Kano (northern Nigeria) died last week after developing respiratory problems. But we are lucky to take some blood from her before she died," said Mohammed Belhocine, the World Health Organization's representative in Nigeria by telephone.
                Belhocine said two kids from a chicken farm in the northern state of Kaduna, where Africa's first bird flu cases were detected, were also being tested although Nigerian health officials had already ruled them out as bird flu victims after they recovered. "Our team is in the field to identify and take some samples ... We want to make sure," he said.
                Belhocine also said a lady in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial city, who was reported to have developed flu-like symptoms, has tested negative to the avian group antigen.
                Nigeria is the first country on the African continent to report an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus which has claimed at least 92 lives, mostly in Asia, since 1997.
                The UN Food and Agriculture Organization warned on Wednesday the bird flu continues to spread in Nigeria and could cause "a regional disaster."
                Source: Xinhua
                http://english.people.com.cn/200602/...23_245148.html


                </td></tr></tbody> </table>

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                • #83
                  Nigerians Dubious of Efforts to Eradicate Bird Flu

                  Nigerians Dubious of Efforts to Eradicate Bird Flu

                  By Nico Colombant
                  Abidjan
                  24 February 2006

                  With Reporting by Pauline Bax in Kaduna and Kano, Nigeria

                  Even as Nigeria's government gets serious about tackling bird flu among its poultry, many Nigerians remain skeptical about the effort.

                  Half the chickens in a pen on a school ground in Nigeria's Kaduna state have already died, possibly of bird flu, while the other half were about to be killed as part of efforts to stop the virus. Their owner, Zubaira, looked on, distraught.

                  "It was on Monday. I saw one standing and some others were pecking it, so we removed it and killed it," he explained. "Then on Monday, in the morning, too, one couldn't walk, we kicked it and killed it. And what we discovered [is that] eggs had been broken, and once an egg is broken inside the stomach, they will not be active again."


                  An official from the Kaduna state ministry of agriculture, Sylvanus Babachory, has been working around the clock. "What we're doing is, we've discovered the bird flu and we're now stamping it out," he said. "We're taking the samples."

                  Meanwhile, the newly named chairman of the bird flu task force in Kaduna, Aboubacar Bala, has been spreading awareness to ordinary citizens, telling them what can and cannot be done. "We are not discouraging people from eating chicken," he explained. "They should understand that they should not eat a sick or dead chicken. Whenever they are going to eat chicken, they should ensure that they clean their hands properly, wash all their utensils properly and cook the chicken and eggs properly."

                  At a street snack bar in Kaduna, though, the owner is worried about his business. "Here we are, we do prepare [special dishes] with eggs here," he said. "[But customers come and say they don't eat eggs and it affects our market price, so I'm worried about it."
                  Another citizen in Kaduna, Faisal Lawal, does not trust the government. He says it never looks out for the common man, so he does not see why it would be different for bird flu.

                  "People think it's a set-up," he said. "They've had so many disappointments from the government. Most people believe everything that comes from the government comes just from a purely selfish interest and that it's difficult to get them to believe that this bird flu is real."

                  In another northern bird-flu affected area, it is the same mixture of government effort and general suspicion.

                  The chairman of the team monitoring the outbreak in Kano, Shehu Bawa, has just culled hundreds of chickens, and he is optimistic his work will pay off. "Now, we have about 40 farms involved in Kano and we hope to finish," he said. "We hope to contain the matter in a week's time, in a week."

                  But the chairman of the local poultry farmers association, Alhaji Aruna, is not impressed with the epidemic. "We live with the flu. It's not a big deal to us. We should be less concerned about it in Africa," he said. "We should be more concerned about things that are more devastating to us than a white man's disease. If it is only in Africa, little effort would have been made. In fact, in all sincerity, corruption is the highest disease that we have."

                  Aruna says farmers need higher compensation than the two dollars per chicken culled they are being promised. He says they should get four times as much. Whatever the promises, though, he does not believe the government will ever pay anything. Instead, he believes the government will keep whatever money they get from foreign donors.

                  He says most farmers, rather than killing possibly affected chicken, are hiding them or selling them on the black market.

                  International experts say the virus could spread across Africa if it is not contained in Nigeria, endangering millions of people. Ministers and officials from across West Africa met this week in Senegal and pledged to do all they can to keep their borders closed.

                  http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-02-24-voa33.cfm





                  Last edited by Extra; February 24, 2006, 06:00 PM. Reason: formatting only

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                  • #84
                    Nigerian bird flu outbreak spreads south

                    Nigerian bird flu outbreak spreads south

                    March 7, 2006, 3 hours, 27 minutes and 46 seconds ago.

                    http://www.andnetwork.com/app?servic...nk$2&sp=l22391

                    By Andnetwork .com Nigeria's epidemic of a deadly form of bird has spread south and infected poultry in three more states, Information Minister Frank Nweke said in a statement received today.

                    A highly pathogenic form of avian influenza has been identified in the town of Idemili in Anambra State, 500 kilometres (350 miles) south of Abuja, in Oturpo in the central state of Benue and in Port Harcourt in Rivers State.

                    "The culling of infected birds and decontamination of the affected areas in the three states has commenced," Nweke said.

                    Previously the epidemic had been limited to seven northern and central states Katsina, Kano, Yobe, Kaduna, Bauchi, Plateau and Nasarawa plus the federal capital territory around Abuja.

                    Its arrival in Port Harcourt, a major commercial centre in the densely populated Niger Delta, and Anambra, which sits on one of west Africa's main trade routes, will raise concerns that the virus is getting out of control.

                    Nweke said Nigeria's National Veterinary Reserach Institute had confirmed the new outbreaks were highly pathogenic and samples had been sent to a UN laboratory in Padua, Italy to confirm if they are of the H5N1 strain.

                    So far Nigeria has recorded no human cases of bird flu, but the H5N1 strain, which has been detected in some of the infected northern flocks can be deadly to humans and has killed at least 94 people in other parts of the world.

                    Nigeria was the first African country to detect the virus in its poultry and has put in place a large operation to contain it, but it has already been found in neighbouring Niger and there are fears it will spread further.
                    Source : Sapa
                    Last edited by Clytie; March 7, 2006, 10:33 AM. Reason: formatting only

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                    • #85
                      Re: Nigerian bird flu outbreak spreads south

                      from zaman.com

                      BF spreads throughout Nigeria
                      After the BF virus has been found in three more states in Nigeria, it has been said that the virus has soread throughout the country.

                      Despite the measures taken, officials said that the virus has spread, from the northern border of Katsina to the sourthern point of Guinea (Gine?)'s Rivers state.

                      Kuş gribi Nijerya'nın tamamına yayıldı

                      Nijerya'da son olarak ?? eyalette daha kuş gribi g?r?lmesiyle birlikte, hastalığın ?lkenin tamamına yayıldığı bildirildi.

                      Yetkililer, alınan ?nlemlere rağmen hastalığın kuzeyde Nijer sınırındaki Katsina eyaletinden g?neyde Gine K?rfezi kıyılarındaki Rivers eyaletine kadar yayıldığını belirtti. [18:23:00]

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                      • #86
                        Bird Flu Detected in 11 Nigerian States

                        Bird Flu Detected in 11 Nigerian States

                        Containment efforts escalate; more species affected

                        By Charlene Porter, Washington File Staff Writer


                        Washington ? One month after the first official confirmation of a dangerous form of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Nigeria, the disease now has been detected in flocks in 11 of the West African nation?s 37 states.


                        About 450,000 birds have been destroyed or died from disease as poultry producers and health officials work together to contain the damage and prevent further spread of the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported March 9.


                        Nigerian agriculture officials earlier acknowledged that lax regulatory control of the movement of poultry across borders is one likely way the virus entered Nigeria. That also may explain the appearance of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in late February In Niger, which shares a border with Nigeria?s Kano state.


                        ?It will be vitally important to have disease containment plans in place,? said WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook in Nairobi, Kenya, March 9 as he urged African nations to limit the spread of bird flu.


                        This dangerous form of avian influenza has been confirmed in 33 nations so far, with tests still under way in several other countries where bird deaths are suspect. Since this form of the virus first appeared in Southeast Asia in 2003, an estimated 200 million birds have died or been destroyed in attempts to contain the disease.


                        Border controls and poultry import bans are among the strategies nations are using to protect their flocks from migrating H5N1. The United States first imposed an embargo on birds and bird products from nations affected by this highly pathogenic form of avian influenza in February 2004. On March 6, the Department of Health and Human Services amended the embargo to forbid such imports from Nigeria and Egypt. On March 9, the list of nations under embargo was expanded to include India and Niger.


                        The European Union has imposed import bans on potentially risky poultry products and adopted tighter bio-security measures. Theses measures require imposition of protection zones 3 kilometers around the site where infected birds are found, and a broader 10 kilometer surveillance zone in which the movement of poultry and hatching eggs must be controlled strictly. Fairs, markets, shows or any other gathering of poultry are prohibited in these zones.


                        This form of bird flu has leapt the species barrier and infected humans in 176 cases, resulting in 97 deaths, the latest confirmed March 10 by WHO. The Indonesian government has attributed the death of a 4-year-old boy to H5N1, the latest of 21 deaths in the Southeast Asian nation.


                        Azerbaijan is investigating disease in 10 people with respiratory illness to determine if H5N1 is the cause. The first disease in animals was detected there in February.


                        Other mammals are also at risk of exposure to this strain of influenza. German health officials March 9 confirmed the appearance of the disease in the stone marten, a nocturnal mammal that feeds on birds. It is presumed that this creature -- found alive, but severely ill ? was infected by eating an H5N1-infected bird. Three infected cats also have been found in Germany, but the WHO announcement on these discoveries describes infections of nonbird species as rare events.


                        U.S. government and academic organizations have been conducting an ongoing testing program to look for bird flu viruses in migratory flocks. Flyways crossing Alaska are considered the most likely place for a highly pathogenic influenza strain to enter North America, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, because of the intermingling of native and Asian flocks that occurs there.


                        H5N1 has not been detected in North America so far, although more common, less dangerous bird flu viruses have been detected. The U.S. agencies will be conducting tests on up to 100,000 migratory birds in 2006 in an expanding federal, state and regional disease surveillance effort.
                        The U.N. senior coordinator for avian and human influenza, David Nabarro, said March 8 that migratory patterns likely will carry avian influenza into the Americas within six months to 12 months. (See related article.)
                        For additional information on the disease and efforts to combat it, see Bird Flu.

                        Created:10 Mar 2006 Updated: 10 Mar 2006

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